Snoqualmie PD warns residents not to respond to sextortion scam

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. — Snoqualmie residents have been hit with worrying emails, threatening to “expose” them. The Snoqualmie Police Department (SPD) is warning residents not to respond to a sextortion scam.

SPD stated, via a Facebook post on Tuesday, residents in Snoqualmie and North Bend have been concerned for their safety after receiving emails threatening to send out embarrassing sexual data if they do not pay.

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Police said the sextortion scam is an AI-generated scam. The scammers threaten to send out photos, videos, etc. to family members or friends unless they pay a ransom within 24 hours. The email contains personal information including the victim’s address and and a Google Maps photo of their house. SPD said some information is obtained from open source and other information is most likely from security breaches.

SPD stated the remaining sections of the two-page message arrive as a PDF attachment and include claims the scammers have malware on the user’s computer called “Pegasus.” The scammers say they can see everything the person does on their computer and are watching them.

“The Snoqualmie Police Department urges residents who receive scam email not to respond and not to pay the ransom,” the department wrote in its post. “Delete the email!”

SPD added FBI tips to avoid falling victim to a scam. The first tip is that people should never send compromising images of themselves to anyone, no matter who they are or who they say they are. The second tip is that people should not open attachments from people they don’t know and to be wary of opening attachments even from people they do know. The third FBI tip is that people should turn off and/or cover any web cameras when they are not using them.

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.

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